


Picnic Date

by foxyroxi



Series: Rare pair hell [4]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: M/M, Mentions of Neil's Father, Nightmares, Picnics, aaron buys neil a plushie, aftg summer, aftgsummer, mentions of Riko, soft boyfriends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-08
Updated: 2020-08-08
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:15:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25789441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxyroxi/pseuds/foxyroxi
Summary: Neil looked at Aaron as Matt drove off, leaving them in the botanical garden. Aaron had the paper bag in one arm, Neil’s hand in the other.“Why are we here Aaron?”“I told you. We’re on a date,” he said as he dragged Neil along with him, until he found the perfect spot by Duck Pond.
Relationships: Neil Josten/Aaron Minyard
Series: Rare pair hell [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861276
Kudos: 37
Collections: AFTG Summer 2020





	Picnic Date

**Author's Note:**

> Day 6 of AFTG summer - picnic! And more rare pairs!
> 
> English is not my first language so mistakes will occur!  
> Be kind!
> 
> You can talk to me on [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/foxyroxi_writes)!

Neil had a rough couple of weeks. Nightmares of Riko and his father had plagued him. Aaron stayed awake with him when Neil woke up shaking and sweating. Last night Neil had told himself he didn’t need Aaron for a good night’s sleep, but he was wrong when he woke up an hour later shaking. He had taken a shower and changed his bedsheets and had had a cup of chamomile tea before bedtime, and he still had woken up. He climbed out of bed, trying not to wake Kevin and Andrew, but Andrew had a night just like Neil’s. That or Andrew was on the roof, smoking. Andrew was sitting on the couch with a tub of chocolate ice cream in his hands, home-shopping playing silently on the TV, when Neil came tiptoeing out of the bedroom. 

“Can’t sleep?” Andrew asked and Neil shook his head. 

“No. Nightmares. I thought I could… because I don’t need… You know?”

“I know you need to speak in full sentences,” Andrew deadpanned.

“I don’t want to need Aaron for a good night’s sleep, but I think I might need him for a proper night’s sleep.” Neil wrung his hands in front of him, a nervous trait he had developed ever since he found out he could want things and not get yelled at for it. 

“Neil. Sleep with Aaron.”

“You’ll be okay?” 

“Yeah. I’ll be okay, Neil,” Andrew said and offered him a nod. “Now go.”

Neil smiled a little. He slipped on his bunny slippers Matt had given him for his birthday and walked out the door. He walked across the hall and knocked on the door, and it swung open a minute later. Aaron looked like he had been studying when Neil knocked on the door. Aaron hauled Neil inside, locking the door behind them. He left Neil in the living area while he went to the bedroom and picked up one of the fuzzy blankets he had bought for Neil. He wrapped it around Neil before he went to the kitchenette and made them both a cup of chamomile tea. He put them down on his desk, sat down, pulled Neil into his lap. Neil got comfortable, putting his head on Aaron’s shoulder as he studied. He held up the cup for tea, sipping it from time to time. 

“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “I wanted… I wanted to prove that I could get some sleep without you.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Neil,” Aaron said as he flipped a page in his anatomy book. 

“I feel like I do,” he said and put his cup down on the table. He wrapped his arms around Aaron’s neck and buried his head in his neck. Aaron’s arm curled around Neil’s back, supporting him the best he could. 

“Don’t apologize, Neil. You can’t help it. We aren’t in control of what we dream about,” Aaron told him, and he was right. Neil hummed tiredly and Aaron pressed a kiss behind his ear and before he knew it, he was asleep.

When he woke up, he was curled up against Aaron on the couch. Matt had bought them a bigger couch for when they had movie nights, and it was ten times as comfortable as the old ratty couch he had had when Neil moved in with him. He stared up at Aaron, how his blonde hair fell into his face, how his freckles were scattered around his face. He had fallen asleep with his glasses on, so Neil reached up and carefully took them off Aaron’s face and twisted his arm backward to put them on the coffee before he rolled back into Aaron’s arms. He leaned up and kissed him softly. And he’s taken by surprise when Aaron kissed him back. 

“Feeling better?” Aaron muttered against Neil’s lips. 

“Mmh, I am,” Neil whispered and put his arm over Aaron’s waist, holding him close, “Thank you for putting up with me, Aaron.”

“It’s not your fault Neil. You can’t help it. But maybe you should get some melatonin to help you get a regular sleeping schedule. This isn’t healthy and Kevin will yell at you if your performance falters.”

Neil grimaced. He knew Aaron was right. 

“You’re right.”

“I usually am. Now get up. We’re going on a date,” Aaron yawned as Neil got up on his elbows. “Matt’s driving us to the store, so get up. I need to shower.”

Neil frowned. He failed to see how a trip to the store was a date, but he didn’t question Aaron. He leaned down and kissed him softly. 

“I’ll be ready in twenty,” he said and got up from the couch, putting the fuzzy blanket over Aaron before he slipped on his slippers and went back to the room he shared with Andrew and Kevin. He got ready in the clothes that had already laid out on his bed. He suspected that Andrew had something to do with it, but he said nothing. He dressed in one of Aaron’s pastel orange oversized lightweight hoodies that felt nice against his skin, a pair of light blue skinny jeans that were ripped at the knees and his worn out vans. Andrew styled his hair quickly and then he was on his way. He met up with Aaron and Matt in the hall. Matt looked like he had just been dragged out of bed and Aaron looked handsome, his hair still damp from his shower. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black denim shorts and equally worn out vans. 

“Ready?” Matt yawned and the two smaller men hummed in unison. 

First stop on their trip was the store. Aaron promised to buy Matt breakfast and coffee as a thanks for this. Aaron grabbed a basket and handed it to Neil, letting him and his sweater paws carry it while Aaron filled it with Neil’s favorite fruits. He grabbed a pack of bread, some cream cheese and chicken slices. He grabbed a pack of plastic knives and plastic cups and a bottle of water and a carton of orange juice and went to find Neil. He found him in the toys section. Neil often wandered when shopping. 

“Neil?” he asked when he got close enough. Neil snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Aaron. 

“Yeah? Sorry, I wandered off again.”

Aaron shook his head and looked at the shelf of teddies. “Which one?”

“Aaron--”

“Which one, Neil?”

Neil bit his lower lip as he reached out and took the twenty inch tall fox plush off the shelf. “You don’t have to buy it. I was just looking.”

Aaron stared at him. “Of course I don’t have to buy it for you Neil. But I want to. That’s what boyfriends do. They buy stuff for each other,” he said as he took the fox from Neil’s hand and put it in the basket. They went by the clothing section and bought a cheap blanket, then went to pay. Neil packed their groceries, then went to buy Matt breakfast and coffee from the Deli. 

“Oh, thank God. I thought I would die from lack of caffeine.”

“Stop being dramatic, Boyd,” Aaron said as he crawled into the truck and handed Matt his coffee and breakfast sandwich. Matt didn’t comment on the fox plush Neil had in his hands when he sat down next to Aaron. 

“You know where to take us next,” he said, and Matt nodded. He put his cup in the cupholder, his wrapped sandwich on the dashboard. He drove them to South Carolina Botanical Garden and told Aaron he could be back in a couple of hours. Neil looked at Aaron as Matt drove off, leaving them in the botanical garden. Aaron had the paper bag in one arm, Neil’s hand in the other. 

“Why are we here Aaron?” 

“I told you. We’re on a date,” he said as he dragged Neil along with him, until he found the perfect spot by Duck Pond. He put the paper bag down on the grass, put the blanket down for them to sit on. Aaron patted the blanket next to him, showing for Neil to sit down next to him. He did and Aaron took out the fruits and made them a makeshift lunch. 

“When did you plan this?” he asked as he sat down with the fox in his lap. 

“A couple of weeks ago. I wanted to go on a date before school starts back up and Kevin is out with Wymack, so he can’t pester us to go to practice.” He looked over and saw a wide smile spread on Neil’s face. Something tugged at his heart. It was rare for Neil to smile like that. He leaned over and kissed Neil, not caring they were out in the public. Neil smiled and clenched his hands in the fox in his lap. 

“Thank you for buying me the plush. You really didn’t have to.”

“I know. But I wanted to. It made you look peaceful. And if a teddy can make you look like that, then it’s worth buying. Now eat something. I can hear your stomach rumbling from over here.” He picked up a raspberry from the packet and put it into his mouth.

“No, you can’t,” Neil laughed and Aaron smiled. It was a beautiful sound that only the people closest to Neil got to hear it. 

They take the fruits and the sandwiches Aaron had made. They talked about their upcoming classes, and Aaron even allowed Neil to talk about the autumn season. They played with the plushie, took a couple of selfies so they could look back on the day, and Neil got a thirty-minute nap curled up against Aaron. He smiled sleepily up at him, and Aaron couldn’t help but kiss him. They fed the ducks at Duck Pond and collected their trash in the bag. It was getting gloomy, grey skies washing over the garden. He pulled out his phone and send Matt a quick text, asking if he could pick them up earlier than planned. 

“Let’s pack up, Neil. It looks like it’s about to rain.” 

Neil nodded and got up. He held the fox under his arm as he folded the blanket as nicely as he could manage as the first drop of water hit. Then another. And another. 

“Fuck,” Aaron hissed and picked up the paper bag with their garbage. He took Neil’s hand and rushed to the nearest trash can with the bag. He shoved it in and then ran. It was pouring down by the time they reached the spot where Matt would pick them up and the rain had soaked them. “It wasn’t supposed to rain!” he hissed underneath his breath. A slow smile spread on Neil’s face, and then he was laughing. His auburn curls were plastered on his face and the hoodie clung to his body. The only one who had been safe from the rain was the fox plush. Aaron couldn’t help but laugh. It was stupid to get angry about rain. He took the blanket from Neil and wrapped it around them as they waited for Matt. Neil leaned in and kissed Aaron, the plushie getting squeezed between them.

“Thank you for taking me out today, Aari,” he muttered against his lips. Aaron hummed and kissed Neil again, shutting him up. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this!
> 
> You can talk to me on [twitter](https://mobile.twitter.com/foxyroxi_writes)!


End file.
